Fate's Curse
by foulcat
Summary: Percy Jackson is a plaything of the Fates. Ever since he was young, they have given him every hardship there could be, but somehow he will pull through. Or at least they hope so. I hope you guys like this story, I'm trying to exceed 3k words per chapter, so you get enough per update. Have fun! Harem, with Zoe, Artemis and others. There might be lemons, but you can skip if you want.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello, and welcome to the story I plan to exceed 500k words with! This story will begin in Percy's childhood, and go beyond where the actual story left off in the Blood of Olympus. Completely new, similar quests, but new twists and stuff. Different pairings as well, and I hope to bring out the most vivid emotions you have. So, without further ado, lets get to the story!**

Chapter One

"Where the hell are you, sneaky bastard?!" a voice roared throughout a small apartment on Christmas eve. A six year old boy sat cowering being a sofa, praying that he would remain hidden. His mother lay unconscious in the next room, his stepfather's rage visible in the marks of harm on the woman and her child.

"If you don't come out, I'll kill you when I find you!" the man roared. Percy Jackson crouched even lower behind his last barrier, knowing that the only thing keeping Gabe Ugliano from finding him was a sofa. He watched the shadow of the enormous man slinking closer to his hiding spot, the knife in his hand casting a wicked point onto the wall. The man's grumbling stopped. Percy tried to hold his breath in so he didn't make any noise. Nothing moved, there was no sound, no hint of the man's location. Just when Percy thought he was safe, he let out a muffled sigh before the couch was violently pulled away from him. He shrieked in fright and raised his hands to cover his chest and face but it was no use.

"Caught you, you little shit!" Gabe roared. He grabbed Percy by the neck and lifted him into the air so his feet dangled uselessly above the ground below.

"L-let me go!" Percy choked, squirming as hard as he could but Gabe's grip was iron.

"Oh no, I made a promise, remember? I promised that I'd kill you if you didn't come out. And guess what? You stayed hidden, and it doesn't take a detective to find out what happens next, does it?" Percy let out a strangled cry and kicked madly but to no avail. Gabe raised his knife and slashed it across Percy's chest, cutting about half an inch deep. Percy screamed in pain, and Gabe released him. Percy lay on the floor in a growing pool of his own blood. He felt Gabe kick his ribs and heard a snap before pain rushed into his mind. He could barely see, but he watched as Gabe sneered at him and walked to the kitchen before collapsing to the ground.

"Percy! Are you alright? Oh gods... You're okay. You're okay..." It was Percy's mother. She had woken up. The last thing Percy saw before sinking into sleep was his mother's forced smile, reassuring him that everything would be alright.

**AGE 7**

"Happy Birthday Percy!" his mom sang as he sat in front of a cake topped with blue icing. His stepfather was in the kitchen with them, his face kept in a constant mask of calm but the rage was still there, buried under a thin layer. But he knew if he tried anything he'd be in jail before he could say 'beer'. But that didn't stop him from beating Percy occasionally. Whenever Sally was gone, Gabe took out his anger on Percy, hurting him enough to make him beg for it to stop, but not enough to leave bruises or scars. Speaking of scars, Percy's torso had a long white line running diagonally from his left shoulder to his right hip. It was jagged, for the knife had cut deep and uneven. Doctors had said it would never fully heal, and he would carry the scar with him for the rest of his life. But right now, Percy didn't care. He was just focused on spending time with his mother. But that time would not last forever.

**AGE 8**

"No!" Percy cried out, watching Gabe run a knife across Sally's stomach. Percy watched, unable to help his mother, for he was tied to a chair. It had all gone wrong when Sally let Gabe have a drink for his recent changes in behavior. The alcohol had quickly soured his mood and clouded his thoughts, and he grew angry at her and Percy. He had knocked her out and tied up Percy, and then killed her by cutting her stomach.

"Gabe, stop!" Percy cried, but he might as well have tried talking to a wall. Gabe finished with Sally and jerked his head up to stare at Percy. He let a very inhuman smile creep its way onto his face, and Percy's eyes widened in fear.

"Listen up brat, now that your mother is dead, I can torture you all I want and you will be powerless to stop me!" Percy watched in fear as Gabe walked into the kitchen, and began to boil a pot of water. Percy knew what was going to happen, but he was stuck where he was. And then he let silent tears fall from his eyes.

**OLYMPUS**

The twelve Olympian gods sat in their thrones watching Hephaestus television, or more specifically, knews of the mortal world. Half of them were bored, and wondered why Athena suggested they study mortals closer. They were not as entertaining as they were in ancient times. Zeus sat in his throne, flicking through random Iris images, nearly invisible clouds of mist that formed faint rainbows but were enough for the gods. most of them were boring images of people eating dinner, or playing with pets. He was about to tell everyone they could leave when the mist image made a loud and sudden noise, similar to that of a man shouting, and all the gods lurched in surprise, before watching more closely.

"...think you've had enough of those, Gabe." said a woman in the image. There was an eight year old boy with jet black hair and sea green eyes standing behind her, peeking at an enormous man with dozens of beer bottles in front of him.

"NO! This is my house just as much as yours, so I'll have as many as I want you bitch! Now get out of my sight you whore, or you will regret it!" Some of the goddesses gasped at how the man spoke, while the gods shuffled uneasily. Artemis however, noticed that Poseidon was a little paler than usual. Before she could ask, a sudden cry of pain brought her attention back to the screen. The man was standing over the woman and the boy, a long kitchen knife in his hand.

"I said GET OUT!" he roared, but the woman looked back him without fear.

"Gabe, if you don't calm down, I'll have to call the cops." The man simply laughed at this claim.

"_Oh no, little Sally is gonna call the cops! I might get arrested!_ But wait, she can't call the cops if she's dead!" he mocked, before slamming a hand into her forehead with so much force she crumpled to the ground instantly. The man then turned to the boy, who despite his obvious fear, stood his ground in front of the man, holding a butter knife in front of him.

"What are you gonna do kid, butter me?" the boy mumbled something under his breath.

"What did you say to me?!" The man roared.

"I said that you don't need any more butter on your hands, you've already let any hope of success slip through your fingers." Despite the situation, some of the gods laughed, and Apollo said "I like this kid!".

The laughing stopped immediately when the man growled and scooped up the thrashing child and tied him up with a belt. Some of the gods noted with disgust that the belt had dried flakes of blood on it, evidence that this was not the first time this had happened. The gods watched as the man killed the woman, and began to boil the water. It didn't take long to see his intentions, and some of the gods had to be restrained from flashing down to kill the man.

Once the water had come to a boil, the man dragged the child into the kitchen, still tied to his chair.

"Tell me kid, how much of the human body is water?"

"S-seventy five percent." Percy managed between sobs.

"Well, your percentage is about to change." the man said. But instead of dumping the water onto Percy, he grabbed some sort of opening device and used it to hold Percy's mouth open. Almost all of the gods gasped.

"But that'll kill him!" said Athena, who had obviously not seen this coming. The gods watching in horror as the man began to tilt the water towards Percy's face. Then, the first few drops spilled onto his tongue, and he screamed in pain. The man lifted the pot higher and higher, but only a few drops came out. The gods were puzzled, yet Artemis glanced at Poseidon and saw him looking... proud?

"What the hell..?" the man muttered, and looked into the pot to see what was wrong. Just then, the boiling water surged out of the kettle, bursting all over the mans face. He fell to the ground clawing at his eyes and mouth, screaming curses. Several of the gods thought it was just a miracle, but then the water began twirling around him in a snakelike pattern. Zeus glared at Poseidon.

"You are not supposed to interfere with mortal lives, no matter how terrible. Poseidon lifted his hands in surrender and said

"That's not my doing." Zeus looked at him curiously, but Athena gasped almost immediately. Artemis did as well, her suspicions confirmed.

"You... you broke your oath! That's your child!" Poseidon could only nod his head while Zeus fumed.

"You broke your oath to not have demigod children? The oath that would have kept us safe from the great prophecy? How dare you?!" Poseidon looked at Zeus.

"You mean the oath that you broke about seven years ago? With your daughter Thalia? And then again, as a Roman, with your son Jason? That oath? It is true, I sired this child, but you would be a hypocrite to blame me." Zeus glared at him but said nothing else. Everyone turned back to the image in the steam to see the child struggling against his bonds, the man with his skin burned so severely there was no doubt he was dead on the ground before him. Finally, after thirty minutes of wiggling, he got his hands free and quickly untied his legs. He tried to stand, but collapsed onto the ground, too tired to go on. The screen faded into darkness as the boy lost consciousness.

**AGE 9**

Percy Jackson sprinted through the woods of Central Park, New York. A growl could be heard a ways behind him, but he knew it had his scent and would eventually find him. His only hope was to get to water. After the incident with Gabe and his mother, the police had found him in his apartment after getting numerous calls from neighbors about the noise level.

Just then, Percy broke through some trees and found a creek. He sprinted into the water and collapsed, chest heaving. He knew he only had a minute at best, so he sat there allowing it to rush over him, healing his wounds. He pulled out a bronze sword he'd picked up from one of the strange creatures who had been chasing him, with two snake bodies as legs. It seemed to be much more effective at killing the monsters that plagued his world. He thought he'd get safety after the death of Gabe, but upon arriving at an orphanage he immediately decided he had to leave. Mysterious figures kept approaching the building, and his presence only put the other children at risk. So he ran, ran into the woods of Central Park, and stayed there. Monsters tried to kill him, but he always seemed to know what he needed to do when he needed to do it. After his fights however, even after much practicing, he couldn't perform the techniques he used when dispatching the hellish creatures.

A growl tore through the trees and a black mastiff burst into the clearing where the creek was located. Percy stood quickly and tried to will the water towards the monster, but he was still too weak. He knew that when he was older he'd have more control over it, but for now all he'd managed was a small tidal wave. The dog leapt at him and he raised his sword to intercept it. The dog failed to change direction midair and landed straight on the blade, turning to dust before it even hit Percy. Percy sighed and fell into the river again to clean off the golden dust. But he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched, by some sort of mysterious power. It didn't feel bad in intent, but it wasn't particularly friendly either. More like a silent judge. As Percy rinsed his face, he looked around him to see if there was something watching him. He saw nothing and dismissed it as paranoia. But unknown to him, the gods of Olympus were watching him through a fine sheet of mist, tracking his progress and waiting for the satyr to arrive.

**AGE 10**

Percy stumbled through the trees, looking for the source of the noise he'd heard earlier. It had sounded like fighting, with swords clashing and shouting. Finally, he came to a house that looked desperately in need of repair. Over the course of a year, he'd made it to Brooklyn, which shouldn't have taken that long but with constant monster attacks and no map or compass, Percy wasn't focused on a location rather than moving away from his past.

Percy slowly opened the door, but it creaked despite his silent protests. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed down one of the dark halls.

"Percy? Is that you? Is my baby alright?" Percy wanted to run to his mother's voice, but he knew she was dead, and he knew Cyclopes had the ability to mimic voices. But he decided that he'd let it lead him to itself.

"Mom? Is that you?" he called into the dark.

"Yes, come here! Where have you been?" Percy quietly pulled out his sword, which still didn't feel right in his hands, like it was unbalanced. But it was better than nothing. Percy crept down the hall, careful to keep up his conversation so the constant noise might hint at the monsters' location.

"So, how is Uncle Jake?" he asked, picking a random name from his family tree. He understood that Cyclopes could pull voices from his past, but not memories. Then, a new voice spoke.

"I'm alright, your mother told me what happened to Gabe and we came here looking for you! I'm sorry about the death of your stepfather, I know you two were close." well, that meant there were at least two cyclopes, and they were idiots. Percy had a feeling they were both in the next room, though he had no idea how he knew. His water powers scared him enough, having the ability to sense anything anywhere would just confuse him even further.

Percy quickly jumped into the next room, surprising the two cyclopes. Before they could react, he sliced the head off the first and stabbed the second in the throat. Both dissolved into dust, but he could sense another somewhere above him. He walked back into the main hall, and climbed the dusty staircase quietly, trying to make the wood creak less. When he arrived, he felt the presence of four creatures in the next room. But before he tried an assault, Percy decided to investigate his new 'sixth sense'. He tried extending it, and was surprised when he saw a fuzzy image of the room he was about to enter. There was a large blur, and four small blurs hanging above a blank spot in Percy's vision. Since cyclopes liked to cook their meat, and the three hanging objects were smaller, he assumed the blank spot was a fire. But that meant that... he was _sensing the water molecules in the air._ Percy adjusted his grip on his sword and approached the door frame, deliberately making his footsteps heavy to match that of a cyclopes.

"Phil, you get that fourth demigod? Or is it another satyr?" said the cyclopes, not even turning around from his spices which he was tossing into a kettle of water. Percy didn't answer, but instead lunged forward with his sword, but the monster must have realized something was wrong and dodged the attack.

"Well well, looks like you managed to get past my brothers. How did you knock them out?" Percy simply showed him his sword, which still had their essence on it's edges. He growled at Percy before picking up a large wooden cudgel.

"This is for my brothers! You will pay!" he swung the weapon at Percy who ducked under the strike and rolled inside the cyclopes' guard before jumping off his chest in a backflip, slicing up the monster's stomach as he flipped. He landed on one knee, ducking under a punch sent at his head. He quickly slashed one leg off, then the other, before severing the cyclopes' left arm. Before he could get to the arm with the cudgel, it slammed into Percy's chest and sent him flying into the wall, which cracked under the force. He sat up, groaning, and got to his feet. The cyclopes was cursing as golden blood gushed from his wounds.

"This is not the last you'll see of the McGawf brothers! We will find you when we reform, and we will kill you!" and with that, the cyclopes dissolved into golden dust. Percy limped over to the hanging demigods and satyr and cut them free. One of them was about ten, Percy's age. The other two were in their teens, and the satyr was an unknown age.

"Who are you?" the satyr asked.

"I'm Percy Jackson, who are you?" The satyr looked at the two teens and nodded briefly before saying

"I'm Grover, a satyr, and this is Luke, Thalia and Annabeth." The boy, Luke, looked to be about fifteen or so, with blonde hair and mischievous blue eyes. The girl, Thalia, had a punk style shirt on and skintight dark jeans. The younger girl, about Percy's age, had blonde hair and gray eyes, which seemed to analyze everything they saw for potential strengths and weaknesses.

"But we're not important. The gods sent me to collect Thalia here, but Annabeth and Luke tagged along too. Then, they said you'd be joining us as well, and that you were to be delivered to camp immediately." Percy struggled to take all the information in.

"Gods? Camp? And that cyclopes asked if his brother had another demigod... Care to explain?" Grover nodded hastily while Thalia kept trying to subtly get Luke's attention by brushing her hand against his, or bumping into him on accident. Luke seemed to notice, but said nothing of it.

"Well, you've heard about Greek mythology, correct?" Percy nodded his head.

"Well, it's not mythology. Those gods and monsters are out there, and they still sire children with mortals. You're one of those children. It would help us understand who your godly parent was if you told us a little about yourself before we take you to camp. Camp is basically where we train and fight." Grover said, and Percy nodded.

"Well, aside from the usual, I seem to have the ability to control water..." Percy said. Luke, Thalia and Grover looked at him stunned while Annabeth kept studying him curiously, as she'd been doing the whole time.

"Can you... demonstrate this ability?" Thalia asked. Percy nodded, and willed the boiling water out of the made it twist and turn above their heads like a serpent, before sending it back into the kettle.

"Okay, I have a strong feeling I know who your godly parent is, but let's not jump to conclusions. But for now, we better get going. So, let's go!" Grover said. Annabeth, Thalia and Luke followed after him, so Percy did as well. He looked back into the shadows of the cyclopes home before turning and following them through the woods, heading North. Wherever this camp was, it had to be better than a life on the run.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back, sorry about the wait, but here's your chapter! NOTE, RATING HAS CHANGED FROM T TO M DUE TO THE POSSIBILITY OF LEMONS LATER IN THE STORY. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THEM, YOU MAY SKIP THEM, FOR THEY BARELY AFFECT THE STORY AT ALL. THERE WILL BE WARNINGS JUST BEFORE THEM AS WELL, SO YEAH. :D**

**AGE 11**

Percy was tired of running. But this time he wasn't running from emotions. This time he was running from the bull-man hybrid that was trying to kill him. Thalia was limping along next to him, but he was outpacing her. Without a second thought to his own safety, he draped her arm over his back and helped her climb the hill. The trees parted, and a hellhound lunged. Luke dodged its first strike, but then it turned on Annabeth. Percy saw this, set  
>Thalia down, and sprinted back to help. Just in time too, for the hellhound lunged towards Annabeth but he pushed her out of the way, getting a claw to his face for his troubles. The cut was about half an inch deep, and ran from the corner of his right eye down to his jawline. The hellhound snarled at him, and began circling him, waiting for a dip in his defense.<p>

"Go, get to the camp! I can hold them off!" Percy shouted. Luke, Annabeth and Thalia nodded. Grover was passed out from his injuries, but was murmuring _foooood_ in his sleep. They started to climb once more, but Percy stayed behind, his sword trying to find its way onto the hellhound. Before he could do much damage, more monsters burst through the trees. The minotaur was amongst them, and bellowed a challenge to him. The other monsters joined the roar, and lunged at the child. And suddenly he wasn't there. He was sprawled on the grass several feet down the hill, but the monsters didn't know or didn't care, for a new demigod had taken his place.

"Thalia! What are you doing?!" he cried out as she was slowly overpowered by the numerous wounds and fights. She smiled sadly at him before her face vanished from his view. There was a scream, and the sound of ripping, and Percy couldn't bear it anymore. He ran back up the hill, to the other side, not wanting to waste the sacrifice of the daughter of Zeus. Luke and Annabeth were waiting for him, but when Thalia didn't show up, tears filled Lukes eyes and Annabeth sobbed, holding onto his shirt. Percy felt like crying himself, but knew he had to be strong, for they weren't safe yet. There was almost nothing defending the camp at the time, so they were prone to attack. The monsters slowly backed off from Thalia's body, mangled so much only her face was recognizable.

And then something curious happened. The earth seemed to become like putty around her, and she slowly sank into it. Her face vanished beneath the grass that was springing up in its place, and a small tree stood there, a pine tree, growing taller and taller until it looked like it had been there for hundreds of years. A blue energy rippled out from the tree, surrounding the valley of the camp in seconds, and disintegrating the monsters that had been inside the border. Percy wanted to ask what it was about, but he heard shouting. The sun had just started to rise, and the campers were waking up early, ready to start another day of training. There was a strange peace he found, gazing down into the valley with the sun seeming to make the grass dance like flames. And then he collapsed, the events of the night finally taking their toll.

Percy awoke in a comfortable bed, sunlight streaming in through a canvas material he recognized as a tent. He saw other beds placed around in a circle, and on two of them sat Annabeth and Luke. They weren't injured, but they were talking. Finally, Luke noticed Percy waking up.

"Hey, you alright?" Percy looked around, taking in all that he saw.

"Yeah... I just need some time to think alone for a while... I had thought I was alone in the world..." Luke nodded understandingly, and led Annabeth from the infirmary. Once they were gone, Percy collapsed back onto his pillow. He tried to fight them, but the images kept coming into his mind, images of Thalia giving her life to save him. He felt a sort of emptiness seeping into him as he lay. She had been a great friend, her and Luke acting as surrogate family to him and Annabeth. But because he hadn't been fast enough, because he wasn't brave enough, she was dead. A pine tree stood in her place, protecting the campers as Thalia had protected him.

Sighing, Percy sat up and left the tent. When he saw what was outside, he felt as if he were not appreciating it enough. The stars had just began to pop out, and with the camp's new magical boundaries, air pollution was hardly a problem. There were millions of them, twinkling kindly as they slowly crossed the deep expanse of space. There was a large bonfire going, and a girl sat tending the flames, ignored by the campers who were singing, laughing and dining around it. She looked around his age, had dark brown hair that swept down her back in a cascade. Her warm orange eyes seemed to reflect the flickering of the fire more vividly than normal. She glanced at Percy and smiled, before returning to the fire. Percy wanted to go and talk to her, maybe be her friend, but Grover interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey Perce, want to go find you a better weapon? That sword you have now looks like it's seen better days, and I'm sure Chiron would like to help as well." Percy nodded, and glanced back to the fire. The girl was watching him closely, but for some reason he didn't feel threatened. He reminded himself to chat with her as soon as he was done with what Grover needed. Over the year that Percy had traveled to camp with him, Luke, Annabeth and Thalia, he'd grown close to them. Annabeth was like a sister to him, while Luke and Thalia were the parents. Considering what Thalia confessed about how she felt about Luke, saying they were the parents wasn't too far off.

**Line Break**

"There you are, Percy. I am Chiron. I train heroes, always have. Now, I have heard a lot about you, but before jumping to conclusions lets try out a few blades before I... do what I have in mind." A centaur said to him when they met at the weapons shed. Chiron thanked Grover, who nodded and left, heading back to the campfire. Percy turned back to the shed and opened the door. It squeaked on its hinges, making him wonder just how old the camp was. It looked like it was built maybe five or more years ago, but Percy knew from experience that looks could be deceiving. He peered inside and saw dozens of swords, bows, knives, shields, spears and even a Mossberg 500 shotgun. He tried several swords, doing basic swinging motions with them, but they all were too long, too heavy, too short, or unbalanced. His old sword had always been slightly heavier on the right, so he had to adjust to that.

"Alright, I think that's enough swords. Any other weapons you'd like to try?" Chiron said as Percy almost chopped his tail off with a particularly unbalanced blade. He looked at some of the other weapons, but the sword was all he really needed.

"No, I think I'll just have to find a sword in my free time." Chiron looked unsurprised, and said

"Well, maybe not. Long ago, this item came into my care, its previous owner no longer needing it. It has a dark history, but perhaps you could brighten it?" he said, and handed Percy a pen. Percy studied it closely, twirling it around his fingers. It was a black ink pen, with a plastic removable cap. Maybe thirty cents at a convenience store. On instinct, he uncapped it, and suddenly he was holding a sword. After his initial shock, he twirled it around a bit, and this time it was a perfect fit. The leather grip seemed made for his hand, the blade was just the right weight and length, yet stronger than his previous sword.

"Its name is _Anaklusmos_, or Riptide. It means, in ancient Greek '_The current that-_" chiron started, but Percy cut him off.

"_-takes one by surprise._ Woah, how did I do that?" Percy said, stunned that he'd translated it perfectly. Chiron smiled at him.

"You are part mortal, and part Greek god. That being said, it is no wonder you can speak Greek. Almost all children of the gods can." Percy slowly nodded his head.

"Thank you Chiron, but I better go eat! Food won't be there much longer from the way I've seen the satyrs consume it." Chiron laughed, and waved at him as he jogged back to the campfire. Percy grabbed a plate and looked around for the food, but saw none.

"Hungry? You could always just ask." a voice said behind him. Percy turned, and saw Luke.

"Hey Luke! How do I get food?" Luke smiled, and explained how the plates and cups filled with whatever the user wanted. After Percy filled his plate with barbeque, he walked to the fire. He looked around for the girl he saw earlier, but she was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, he scraped some of his food into the flames, remembering in the myths that Greeks usually sacrificed food to the gods before they ate. Some campers stared at him as if her were crazy, while others looked like they'd seen it before. An older camper walked up to him.

"Hi, you're Percy Jackson, right?" Percy nodded. "Hi, I'm Silena Beauregard. I saw you put some of your food into the fire, but it's not necessary. The gods don't really care whether we sacrifice or not." Percy was a little surprised, but nodded his head anyway. Since he'd already scraped food into the fire, he decided not to waste any.

"To whoever my father is. Please claim me soon." But Percy never did get a reply, or at least not verbally.

**AGE 12**

Weeks passing turned into months, and before he knew it, he'd gotten his first clay bead. It had an image of a pine tree on it, symbolizing Thalia's sacrifice to the camp. Percy still missed her terribly, but forced himself to keep moving. He had spent a lot of time with Annabeth and Luke, learning more about swordsmanship, which Luke was really good at. Annabeth fought using the dagger Luke gave her when they first met. Soon, Luke was granted a quest to steal a golden apple of immortality. His father, Hermes, had promised him the quest before they met Percy, and now he finally got to try it. Three weeks later, Luke returned to camp. He had no apple, no sword, and a terrible scar across his face, a claw from Ladon in his hand. He had told the camp of the quest, of how he had tried to sneak past the dragon. But the hesperides had awoken it, and it attacked him. He managed to cut off several heads before getting clawed down his face. He had prayed to his father, telling him he could not accomplish the impossible task, and was teleported back home. After that, he seemed secretive, and angry with the gods.

On the last day before most campers would return to the mortal world, there was a fireworks event at the beach, hosted by the Hephaestus cabin. The fireworks were enchanted so when they burst, they formed moving images. One showed Heracles defeating the Nemean Lion. Another showed Perseus killing Medusa. Annabeth and Luke would be staying during the winter, and since Percy had nowhere to go, he stayed as well. Halloween at Camp Half Blood was even better than mortal Halloween, even though Percy had never actually taken part. The campers pranked each other at every opportunity during the day, and at night, Dionysus created a very thin layer of madness, causing hallucinations. That, and the campers dressing up anyway made it Percy's favorite event so far. After that, Thanksgiving came and went, and Christmas rolled around. Despite it being a Christian holiday, the campers still celebrated it. They got each other gifts and cards, and Dionysus let it snow lightly. Percy still waited for his father to claim him, but eventually he began to wonder if he ever would. Annabeth had been claimed by Athena, Luke by Hermes. There were only two other unclaimed campers, one was named Travis and the other Connor. They were brothers, but almost everyone believed they were sons of Hermes from all their pranks and strange ability to end up with six different wallets.

But in spring, Hermes finally claimed them. Percy felt alone, despite having plenty of friends to hang out with. Even though he didn't have to, he still sacrificed food to the gods, praying that they would send him a sign. Grover once accidentally let slip he thought Percy's father might have been Poseidon, but he'd sworn an oath not to have any demigod children, along with Zeus and Hades. Zeus obviously gave in, but whether Poseidon or Hades had was yet to be seen.

"Hey, Percy! Get ready for capture the flag, it starts in ten minutes!" Luke said from his bunk above Percy's. He had stayed in the Hermes cabin, where most undetermined children went. Sighing, Percy began suiting up. Eventually, he had all his armor on, the thick leather straps were a little difficult to manage but eventually they wiggled loose and he could adjust them properly.

Luke led the cabin to the woods since he was cabin leader. He had gotten the position by default, being seventeen, and having gone on a quest. The Hermes cabin was teamed with Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Apollo and Aphrodite. The Aphrodite campers never really did much other than occasionally cheer for their team and check their reflections, so they weren't really that big of an advantage. Except Silena Beauregard. She seemed to want to fight the Hephaestus cabin specifically, and some said it was because she liked one of their campers.

**Line Break**

"Percy, you guard the creek, make sure no one gets past. Got it?" Annabeth said to Percy. He rolled his eyes, but nodded. He knew not to argue with her since she was undoubtedly the smartest and most experienced of the Athena children. Sighing, he walked to the water's edge and listened for the Conch shell. When it sounded, he saw his allies sprinting across the border, ready to have fun. Percy hated defense, but he knew that it was good practice. When he trained with Luke at sword fighting, he was superior on offense. But if Luke kept a good defense up, he could easily sway the battle his way. Almost everyone in camp compared the two when it came to swordsmanship, seeing them as equally skilled despite Luke's age advantage. Before Percy could get too into his thoughts, he heard snickering. He looked up and saw his least favorite camper, Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares. Percy's second day at camp had been spent in a toilet bowl thanks to her, despite his attempts to fight her off.

"Hey Prissy, how are you doing?" she mocked, some of her siblings chuckling stupidly. Percy could usually count on their lack of intellect, but Clarisse had a couple more brain cells than her siblings.

"Not bad, you?" Percy replied, trying to keep a calm demeanor. Clarisse grinned at him.

"I'm alright, thanks. Now surrender, before you get yourself hurt."

"No chance, why surrender to an enemy who is already beaten?" Clarisse's face became blank for a second as she processed what Percy said. Eventually, she got it and growled.

"You got a lot of nerve talking like that. If we do beat you, what are you gonna do? Ask your daddy for help? Oh, right, he doesn't love you enough to claim you." Percy froze.

"I'm going to give you to the count of ten to take that back. Ten," He said, his voice dripping with hatred. Clarisse just sneered, and continued taunting.

"If you can't ask your dad for help, will you ask your mother? Will she help you? Oh yeah, she's dead... And even if she were alive, I'm sure she'd be too drunk and high to care about you anymore."

"Nine,"

"Oh come on Prissy, face it. You have no back up, no one who loves you, no one to help you. You should just give up now while you have the chance."

"Eight," At this, Clarisse began to shift uncomfortably.

"I'm warning you, surrender, or you're gonna get shocked so hard you won't know left from right!"

"Seven," Percy continued. He tried to block out her taunts, but he was having difficulty, and it must have shown in his voice.

"Scared? you should be." Clarisse said. Her cabin mates were watching the interaction with stupid grins on their faces.

"Six," Percy continued.

"You _are_ scared. I knew it."

"Five," By this count, Percy was ready to wring her neck, but he held his ground. He'd look weak if he attacked without warning. He heard whispering around him and realized the game was over. But he didn't care.

"Prissy? More like Pissy, because that's all you do in front of danger."

"Four,"

"I'll bet you just got Luke to make up all the stories of you two going neck and neck."

"Three,"

"If you're so good at swordsmanship, why haven't you proven it to me yet? All I heard are stories, and I won't believe it until I see it."

"Two,"

"If you want to visit your dead mother, just ask. I'll be happy to send you there."

"One."

"I see where you got your cowardice. From her. _She probably died a coward._" At this, Clarisse laughed. When she looked back at Percy, he wasn't there. One-by-one, her siblings fell, Percy darting between them so swiftly it was like a flash of darkness had taken their consciousness. After about five seconds, Clarisse was the only one standing. She looked around in awe and fear, as did the other campers.

"Uh, Percy? I take back what I said." As soon as the words were off her lips she received a punch to the throat, causing her to stumble back and choke. Percy said nothing, his face a mask of calm. But his eyes shone like green flames, a mixture of Greek fire and cold water, building up pressure. Clarisse stood shakily, eyeing Percy warily.

"Percy, I'm sor-" she started, but Percy slashed his blade across her arms. This time he spoke.

_"You claim my mother was a coward in death. That she feared her passing. You really are as stupid as I thought. I think, for your insults, you should receive every wound she did, protecting me before she died."_ Clarisse gulped, and raised her spear and shield. As fast as light, Percy cleaved the magic item in two, tendrils of electricity arcing out of the polished wood. Clarisse was stunned by the speed with which he struck.

_"My mother didn't hide behind weapons and armor."_ He growled, and struck again. Clarisse raised her shield to block the strike, but the shield simply clattered to the ground, shattered. She looked around for Percy, but he was traveling so quickly all she heard were whispers. Then, he seemed to solidify in front of her.

_"That was the weapons, now for the armor."_ He said with a glare. He slashed at her armor and it fell to the ground in a jumbled heap. He'd cut all the straps.

_"Now tell me, Clarisse. Do you fear death. Do you fear to cease living, cease waking each day? Because you claim my mother did. Well you're wrong."_ Clarisse was practically on her knees begging for mercy. Percy calmly strode up to her and rested his sword on her shoulder, next to her neck. He stared into her eyes and said

_"I am not him." _And then he sheathed Riptide and offered his hand to help her up. She ignored it and stood on her own. She didn't try to get her weapons or anything to defend herself with, she simply stood there.

Then, a hard object crashed into the back of his head. He stumbled, but did not fall. He looked up to see more Ares children standing there. The one who had bashed him with the hilt of his sword was glaring at him furiously.

"Who do you think you are, knocking us around? We are children of war, we don't _lose_" Percy smirked, and let out the anger he'd built up. With a roar, the creek began to rise, swirling into the air. Percy was glowing a faint green, and a holographic trident appeared above his head. He was surprised, but knew what the trident entailed, and decided not to waste his gifts. He willed the water into the shape of a serpent, and it hissed and coiled around the Ares children.

"Well then what did your team just do, if not losing?" The Ares cabin was speechless, as was the rest of camp. Chiron looked as if his worst fears were confirmed, as well as Grover. Percy willed the creek back to where it belonged, and Chiron knelt, the rest of the campers following suit.

"All hail Perseus Jackson, Son of Poseidon, God of the Seas."

**So there's the chapter! Leave reviews! Also, in case you ignored the top note, rating has changed to M for possible lemons later on. Main pairing is actually quite large, as seeing how its a harem. I'll tell you two of the people in the harem, excluding Percy, but the rest you gotta guess. And they are already determined, so please don't go "Put Philipp von Beufershmidtzel in the harem please!" I'm not putting Phillip or anyone else in, it seems good as it is. Anyway, see you guys next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow. 116 followers? 79 favorites? This is by far the most successful story I have ever written. I'm glad you guys all like it, and I'll try my hardest to keep updates constant and packed with details. I'm pleased to say that this is the longest chapter for any story I have ever written, reaching 5,544 words. I guess it's my new years present to you all. Happy 2015! But, without further ado, let's get to this chapter!**

Percy lay in his new cabin staring at the ceiling. He knew he had power over water, but he didn't know which water god it was. There were a lot of minor gods who had control over it, and he never thought it might be the god of the sea himself. As he lay, he thought about how his life would be different in camp. He was so used to Luke waking him up in the mornings for breakfast, and sitting with the Stolls at the Hermes table. He wondered how Annabeth might treat him because of the Athena/Poseidon rivalry. He could tell himself when lights out was, or what his schedule was for training. He could listen to no one but himself, and have complete freedom. And he hated every second of it. He couldn't hang out with his friends any more, because they were all frightened by what he did to Clarisse and the Ares cabin. After capture the flag, everyone had gotten away from him as quickly as possible. But he understood their haste. After all, who would ever want to be friends with the kid with anger issues?

"Percy? You in there? Breakfast is starting soon." Grover called from the other side of his cabin door. He sighed, and got up and ready for the day.

"Yeah, I'll be there soon Grover." Percy quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a camp t-shirt. As he was walking out of his cabin, he looked up the hill to the dining pavilion. For a second, he thought he saw that girl sitting by the fire again. She smiled at him, and when a group of Demeter campers walked passed, she was gone. He had asked people all over the camp who she was, but none of them seemed to know who he was talking to. He felt a connection between himself and the unknown girl because she seemed lonely as well. Percy had made a promise to himself to talk to her when he first got to camp, but after that night he hadn't seen her since. But he was sure he'd get to talk to her one day.

**Line break**

"Heroes! The hunters of Artemis will be coming here sometime within the next week, and staying for about four days. Artemis has business on Olympus, and has asked us to take them in for a little bit. I expect you all to be respectful of their boundaries, and try not to antagonize them." Chiron announced.

After Chiron's message, Percy filled his plate with food and sacrificed some to the gods, even though he still didn't need to. He was aware of some of the campers staring at him, but he didn't care. He sat down at the Poseidon table alone, and slowly ate his meal. When he finished, he got up and walked down to the arena to practice swordsmanship. When he got there, he found Luke. He heard voices, but didn't catch the words. It seemed like Luke was talking to someone, but he was alone. After a while, Luke finished speaking and tucked something inside his pocket. Percy decided that would be a good time to announce his presence.

"I never knew you had a phone, Luke. Most demigods don't." He said. Luke turned around startled, but gained his composure.

"Yeah... I have a phone. But I rarely use it, I was just calling my mom..." Percy nodded, understanding the fact that Luke had told a lie at some point in his sentence, but he decided to let it go.

"Well, want to spar?" Percy said changing the subject. Luke's shoulders visibly relaxed and he nodded and unsheathed his sword. Percy uncapped Riptide and got into a ready stance. He and Luke waited, and then started on an unspoken signal. They exchanged blows rapidly, Percy going as fast as he possibly could, and Luke barely keeping up. While Luke had strength, Percy had speed. His strikes made the air between them take on a bronze hue as their swords danced, too quick for regular eyes to follow. But Luke and Percy knew each other's moves perfectly, and read them every time. They fought on and on, until the fight ended when Percy suddenly stopped his blade, allowing Luke's to soar past him, leaving his guard open. Percy punched his chest six times and performed a jump kick, sending Luke toppling down. Before he could recover, Percy's sword was under his chin.

"Do you yield?" Luke sighed in defeat and nodded as much as he could with the sword at his throat. Percy capped Riptide and offered a hand to Luke, who took it gratefully. After they finished sparring, Percy suddenly felt as if he were being watched, and endangered. He looked around quickly but saw nothing. A second sweep revealed a small bit of silver in the surrounding green of the forest. Percy pretended to see nothing and turned back to Luke, who had remained oblivious to the whole thing.

"Luke, I think the hunters are here, and they are watching us." he said in a low tone. "Don't turn and look, but relative to the sun the one I saw was at 5:30." Luke nodded and they began walking out of the arena. Just before they would have left, Percy grabbed Luke and pulled them to the floor as an arrow whizzed over their heads. Luke and Percy shot to their feet and glared at the now exposed huntress.

"Why are you shooting us? And why were you watching us in the first place?" The huntress glared in response. She had long dark hair, braided over one shoulder. On her head, she wore a silver circlet which Percy guessed meant she was a higher ranking huntress. She had almond shaped eyes, which were as dark as the night sky, but lacked the twinkling of stars.

"Target practice. You two are average height for disgusting males, so I figured I'd improve my skills. I would have been doing the world a great favor, removing you two from it, as you are males and think women are weak." she replied. Percy looked at Luke who back away slightly and gave him a '_you're the diplomat here, you handle her.'_ look. Percy sighed and turned around again.

"You claim that all men think of women being weak, you claim we are disgusting and vile and disrespectful and evil. You base your opinion of males on the actions of some. While I agree, there are terrible men out there, men worthy of being shot at, I suggest you think before you fire." Percy said, trying to get her to put down the arrow she was aiming at him again.

"Who do you even think you are, speaking to the lieutenant of the hunt like that? To you, I hold just as much authority as Artemis herself!" Percy sighed.

"To answer your question, I am Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. But we'll ignore that for now and focus on the fact that I'm male. Who my father is should be no deciding factor in your opinion of me. Who _I _am should be. And right now, am I doing anything that you find disrespectful? Because if so, I can stop." The huntress looked at him more curiously than angrily.

"You are Percy Jackson?" she asked him, and he nodded. She looked as if she had heard about him from somewhere, but then her expression hardened again. "Then I must test you. My lady commanded it of the first huntress to see you." Percy was wondering why Artemis wanted to test him, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it because She released her arrow. Percy ducked under it and uncapped Riptide mid-roll and stood. His blade flashed from side to side, deflecting arrows. The huntress seemed to have a lot of them, but eventually she ran out. She cursed and dropped her bow, pulling out two large hunting knives as she did.

"Why are you attacking me? Have I done something wrong? If so, I'm sorry." Percy tried, but The huntress simply charged him, slashing her knives up at his chest. He blocked the strike and rolled back to avoid the downward stabs she sent his way. He cursed and decided to try disarming her. She slashed both knives down at him from above her head, but he caught both on his sword, and held them in check. Then, he sent a kick to her stomach and knocked her blades out of her hands as she bent over in pain. Before he could force her to surrender, she swept his feet out from under him and knocked him on his back. She then straddled his chest and held a hunting knife under his chin.

"Yield, _male_?" she asked. Percy would have normally, but he got the strangest feeling that she didn't want him to. Instead of replying, he sat up as much as possible, and used her own attempted force to push him back down to roll back, launching her off of him. He picked up Riptide from the ground and charged her. She brought up her knife just in time and deflected the blow before slashing his chest. Percy gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the pain in his chest. He could feel blood soaking his shirt, and began to feel woozy. With the last of his strength, he lunged at her, dropping his sword as he did. He tackled her to the ground and forced her own knife under her chin. He made sure he was in a position that would not invade any _personal_ areas, but so she could not throw him off as he had done.

"Do you yield?" he asked her. She glared at him and tried to throw him, but he stayed put. She sighed in defeat and nodded. He got up as quickly as possible, moving almost as fast as he had with the Ares campers the night before. She stood on her own and glanced at his chest.

"You are still bleeding. I recommend you go to the infirmary." Percy nodded and said

"Alright. But I recommend you ask Artemis to stop testing me before I have to come ask her myself." She scowled at his threatening tone, but nodded. Just before she was about to walk away, he asked

"By the way, what's your name?" She simply glared at him before saying

"Zoe. Zoe Nightshade." Percy nodded absentmindedly, and turned to the direction of the infirmary. Luke was still watching from the outskirts of the arena, smirking.

"You almost got your ass handed to you. By a _girl_." Percy was already in a sour mood, ever since he'd been attacked by Zoe, but this made him angry for a different reason.

"Luke, why do you think it is any different to lose a fight with a girl than it is to lose a fight with a boy? They are just as capable of greatness as you are, and I think you would become even more than an average demigod if you remember this." Luke looked a little taken aback by Percy's tone, but quickly nodded his head before smirking.

"Someone's getting a little defensive. I mean, you just met her, plus she's sworn off the company of men, Percy." Percy was confused for a split second before he realized the implication of Luke's sentence.

"LUKE!" he shouted, chasing after the already running son of Hermes. He made it into the dining pavilion where there were potential witnesses to the murder about to be committed by Percy. Percy glared at him one last time, before heading to the infirmary to get some nectar, ignoring the stares of some of the campers. But unknown to him, the girl by the fire was watching him go.

**Line Break**

Percy watched the group of Hephaestus campers move forward into the forest, shifting gradually to the left. He saw a few hunters notice and follow. Percy then turned his attention to the right, and saw the other group going to the opposite side of the forest. All the remaining hunters except one followed. Percy's eyes narrowed. He had anticipated the hunters' numbers being too small to risk a defense, and play offense the entire game. His plan was to send two large groups on either side, drawing out their forces and leaving the middle open. But now, one hunter stood in the way of the flag. Percy sprinted as quietly as he could, a year of living in the woods and hunting his meals making him silent as a gentle wind. He stayed hidden in the shadows as much as possible, but soon he came to the outskirts of the clearing where the hunters' flag had been positioned. He could see the guard more clearly now, and was surprised that it was Zoe. He waited until she turned to watch attacks from the left, and then crept up to the flag, which was the same size as a handheld flag. When he pulled it out of the ground, she gave no indication of any notice that the flag was gone. He crept back to the edge of the clearing and was about to leave and return to his own side when something strange happened. A trio of Ares campers had crept into the clearing, and were surrounding Zoe. They were all male, and had hungry gleams in their eyes. Percy knew what was going to happen, for he had seen that look in Gabe's eyes enough times to know what they were planning. It was the look of lust, and a look of aggression. Usually when those two mixed, bad things tended to happen. One of the campers stepped on a twig and it snapped under his bulkiness. Zoe turned around quickly, and pulled out a long knife. She seemed surprised that the flag was gone, but assessed the immediate danger.

"Fools, the flag is clearly gone. No surprise someone else got here first, you sons of Ares are about as quick as turtles." The Ares children simply laughed stupidly.

"Huntress, we are not here for the flag. We are here for you." Zoe's eyes widened as she realized what they meant.

"You will do no such thing! Artemis will flay you alive if you even touch me."

"Oh, but we did our research. There was once a hunter of Artemis who was also raped. She didn't tell Artemis, in fear of what would happen to her. And when the goddess found out, she turned her into a bear. I wonder what you will become?" the Ares camper said. Percy waited in the underbrush to see if Zoe actually needed help, or if she could handle them on her own. The trio began to advance slowly, pulling out weapons. Zoe tried to back up, but they had her surrounded. One of them grabbed at her but she ducked and threw a punch at him, hitting him in the nose. Blood flowed freely from the wound and he seemed stunned, but that quickly turned to anger.

"You bitch! You're really gonna get it now!" The trio began grabbing her limbs, and soon she was dragged off into the deeper parts of the woods. Percy followed, forgetting that he had the flag tucked into his belt. He watched the three campers drag Zoe into a cave, and he silently entered behind them, staying in the shadows. He watched as the campers tied her to a wooden pole that was stuck into the ground, and Percy realized that they had planned this out. He saw one of them begin to grope around under Zoe's shirt, while the others worked on her jeans. She thrashed around as much as she could, but the ropes they tied her with were too thick. Just before they could get her panties and bra off, Percy decided he had seen enough and sprinted at them. He jumped into the air and lashed out with his feet, catching one in the side of the head, knocking him out instantly. Percy uncapped Riptide and stood protectively in front of Zoe, eyeing the two remaining campers. They hastily redid their belts and drew their swords.

"What do you think you're doing, Jackson? Trying to stop us? We'll just beat you until you're no longer recognizable as a human!" Percy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I'm used to it. If you're going to threaten someone with pain, make sure they haven't already experienced it and adapted." The two campers were trying to comprehend what he said, and he figured that would be the best time to attack. He swung his sword at one, knocking his blade out of his hand, and clapping both hands on the boy's ears, knocking him out. Hi turned quickly and blocked a strike aimed at hims head by the other camper, and stuck his sword into the ground. The camper seemed confused, but Percy just grabbed the handle and swung himself into the air, sticking out his feet and catching the camper in the nose, breaking it instantly. The son of Ares collapsed to the ground, knocked out. Percy wasted no time in pulling his sword out of the ground and cutting the ropes that had bound Zoe. She quickly put the clothes that had been removed on while Percy looked the other way. When Zoe finished, she told him it was safe to look. She was looking at the ground, her face completely red at being seen by Percy at a weak moment. By that time, the game had ended and the campers lost due to the fact that there wasn't a flag to take. After a while of not talking, Percy finally broke the silence.

"Well, we should probably get back to Chiron, huh?" Zoe just nodded her head and followed Percy out. About halfway back to camp, she noticed the silver flag in his belt.

"You're the one who stole it?!" she asked, glaring at him. He just smiled in response.

"Well, You were looking for attacks from the left, so I snuck in and took it. I was about to head back when I saw the children of Ares. I waited to see if they were actually going to... you know. And when I realized they were really going through with it, I stepped in." Zoe looked at him curiously.

"But why did you help? I attacked you earlier, and you could have won the game for the campers." Percy sighed, and looked up at the stars that were beginning to show.

"I don't like knowing that people have been or are going to be abused. If there's something I can do about it, then I help, no matter who it is or what they've done." Zoe looked like she wanted to say more, but they arrived at the campfire. There were only a few campers still there, among them were Luke and Annabeth.

"There you are Percy, we looked everywhere but couldn't find you!" Luke said happily before he noticed Zoe. When she wasn't looking, he sent a wink at Percy who simply glared at him.

"Percy, what exactly happened? By the look on your face it was nothing good." Percy looked at the other campers who had decided to listen in on the conversation, then looked back at Chiron.

"I think it would be best if we discussed this in private. To the big house?" he said, to which Chiron nodded uneasily. Luke and Annabeth tried to follow, but Percy looked at them and they got the message: _Later._

Percy, Zoe and Chiron walked through the large oak doors of the big house and sat on some of the sofas in the living room.

"Well Chiron, I don't know how to say this so I'll just tell you. Some of the Ares campers attempted to violate Zoe's oath as a huntress to remain a maiden. Thankfully enough they did not succeed." Percy said. Chiron took in that information and then donned a horrified expression.

"Zoe, are you alright? How did you escape? Where are they?" he asked her, and she held up a hand for time out.

"I'm fine, Percy... handled them. And they are in a cave deep in the woods to the southeast." Chiron looked relieved and glanced at Percy.

"Out of curiosity, how did you deal with them?"

"I knocked them out, though one has a broken nose that was bleeding last I checked and I don't know how that affects his condition." Chiron nodded and waved a hand dismissively. Zoe and Percy left the big house and ran into Luke and Annabeth.

"Oak doors are really thick, don't let much sound out. So what happened? Anything uh... interesting?" Luke said, wiggling his eyebrows at Percy. This did not go unnoticed by Zoe who glared at the son of Hermes.

"Have you no shame? Yes, something interesting did happen but it was not Percy who attempted it." Luke looked surprised, and turned to Percy.

"Tell me the story. Now." Percy glanced at Zoe, but she simply nodded, and so Percy explained. Luke was silent for a long time, before he said

"Well, it's a good thing Percy was nearby. I think he should just hang around you the rest of the time that you're here, to make sure those Ares campers don't try anything." Luke said, suppressing a smile. Percy noticed his unusual behavior.

"Excuse us Zoe, I need to have a talk with _Lucas_ here." he said, dragging the giggling son of Hermes away, leaving Annabeth and Zoe alone. Once they were out of earshot, Percy glared at him.

"What are you trying to do, Luke? Don't lie either, I can tell when you're lying." Luke just grinned at Percy.

"I'm only doing what I think I should. Besides, its obvious you like her." Percy glanced back to make sure that Zoe and Annabeth weren't listening in, but Zoe seemed to be showing Annabeth was learning how her bow worked.

"Luke, even if I did feel that way for her, she hates all men, and last time I checked, I was a man. The chances of your little game actually playing out are zero. So don't mention anything like that again." Percy said, which Luke just grinned at.

"We'll see Percy. Are we done here?" Percy glared at him but nodded and Luke walked back to Zoe and Annabeth. When Percy turned to follow, he saw the girl at the fire. She looked at him and smiled as if they were sharing a secret. He started sprinting, and ran straight past Zoe, Luke and Annabeth. He kept his eyes on the fire, making sure she didn't vanish like last time. When he got there, he was out of breath, but started to speak.

"Hi. I'm Percy, who are you? I saw you the year I got here and wanted to ask why you were sitting alone at the fire, but I never got the chance." The girl just smiled and offered him a seat next to her.

"Well, my name is Hestia. I sit here because the hearth needs someone to keep it steady. Without it, home means nothing anymore. Do you understand this?" Percy was surprised that she was Hestia, but answered her question, as she didn't seem like the bowing and groveling type.

"I think I do, Lady Hestia. But why do you stay here alone? Why not invite someone, it seems like a pleasant lifestyle. No fighting monsters, or dealing with mean people. Just the fire and those you care about." Hestia smiled at his words.

"I don't feel it necessary to invite people, the only people who come to me are Hermes when he has a package, or Hades. He understands not being involved with decisions in the council. If I had any say in what the gods did, you might see them down here at camp, being there for their children. And your past may have been entirely different. Perhaps it is best that I am not on the council, for it is your past that made you who you are now." Percy nodded, and was about to continue when Zoe, Luke and Annabeth caught up to him.

"Percy, what are you doing?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm talking to her." He replied, waving a hand at Hestia. Luke and Annabeth seemed confused as to who he was pointing at. Zoe had her eyes narrowed in suspicion about who he might be talking to.

"Percy, there's no one there." Luke said. Percy turned to look at Hestia, but saw that she was staring into the fire. Her eyes seemed particularly reflective, and he realized that they weren't just reflecting the fire, but they _were _fire. But then he saw something that didn't quite make sense. He saw water coming from them, despite their composition. He turned back to his friends.

"Guys, she's right there, how do you not see her?"

"They cannot. Only those who truly care about the hearth and what it represents can see me when I am not at the original hearth. Although, your friend Zoe seems to be able to see me as well, whereas before she could not. Her little time with you has changed her." Hestia said.

"Hey! Can you two stop talking about me like I'm not even here?" Zoe asked, and Percy smiled apologetically.

"Come, join us. You might find you like it here." Zoe eyed the goddess warily before sitting a respectable distance away from Percy, since he was male.

"Oh come on Zoe, he's not going to bite. Give him a chance before you completely decide what your opinion is." Hestia chided, and Zoe looked like she'd rather lay under a train, but she scooted closer until it seemed as if they were just three friends sitting at the campfire.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Hestia asked, to which Zoe shook her head.

"Good. Oh, you might want to tell your friends to leave, they won't understand who you're talking to." Hestia said. She seemed to have cheered up considerably since Percy had seen her on the verge of tears. Zoe and Percy told their friends to go to sleep, and that they'd see them in the morning. Then, they turned back to Hestia.

"So, what did you two want to talk about?" Hestia asked the two cheerfully. Percy glanced at Zoe despite his attempts not to, and when he looked back to the goddess he saw that she was looking at the pair as well.

"Ah. I see. Maybe a one-on-one approach would be best. Percy you can leave us first, be back in about twenty minutes, okay?" Percy looked unhappy with it, but nodded and left. He went to the arena to practice, but when he got there he found that Luke had the same idea.

"Hey. So, who were you two talking to?" Luke asked when he saw Percy. They began shredding straw dummies as the talked, and Percy explained as best he could who they had met. Luke just looked at him like he was crazy.

"Hestia is a goddess, they don't just hang out at demigod camps and tend to the flames like peasants." Luke said.

"Well maybe she does it because maintaining the hearth is not a job for peasants but for those who understand what it means best. Only those people can see the goddess." Luke just kept looking at him like he'd dropped off the deep end, so they decided to train in silence. When twenty minutes had passed, Percy said goodbye and walked back up the hill to the fire. When he arrived, he found a scene he was not expecting. Hestia and Zoe holding each other as if their lives depended on it. Percy was unsure whether he should stay or give them more time, so he simply sat in the pavilion at one of the tables where he was in sight but out of hearing range. He didn't want to seem like a stalker. After at least another ten minutes, Zoe and Hestia separated and smiled at each other before Zoe got up and left to the Artemis cabin. When she was gone, Percy got up and approached the goddess.

"Hello Hestia. I have to say, that took longer than I expected. Would I be prying to ask what it is you two discussed to make you go ten minutes overtime hugging?" Hestia blushed, but shook her head.

"No Percy, what we discussed is up to us to share with anyone, and that includes you. Now, what did you want to talk about?" Percy shifted uneasily.

"Well, I was wondering why you kept vanishing the past year every time I saw you. I wanted to ask you if you wanted company, but you just kept disappearing. But now, I'm wondering why you stayed the same age as me?" Hestia smiled at him and responded.

"Well, I stayed the same age as you because you're special. You are the first person to see me at the fire in over a hundred years, and the last person who did just wanted to know where the Apollo cabin was. They were able to see the true meaning of the hearth, and yet they wasted that potential. Since you are one of the few who truly know why I stay here, I figured I might like to get closer with you." she said. Percy was a little surprised that a goddess wanted to get to know him, but he shook off his shock.

"I'm sensing that my vanishing acts are not all that is on your mind. Is there something else?" Percy paled when he realized that since he understood the hearth, it understood him as well. And if Hestia was the hearth..."

"I can't hide anything from you, can I?" he said and she laughed. Her laughter sounded like the kind families share, the kind that showed how much they cared for each other and cherished the happy moments.

"No, you cannot. And Zoe can't either. Anyone who understands me becomes like a book. I can open you up and read you down to the letter. But I like to keep any knowledge that I learn to myself, I wouldn't be able to stand the betrayed looks on anyone's face if I revealed any secrets they might have. But onto what you _really _want to talk about." Percy swallowed nervously.

"Well, at first I didn't feel anything at all. She was just someone I knew, who had tried to kill me. But after the events of capture the flag, I want to be her friend. Even if she hates men, I want to get to know her better. Does that make any sense, or am I just crazy?" Percy laughed nervously. Hestia studied him for a couple minutes, before she let out a small gasp.

"Oh my... I recommend you befriend her. She's actually pretty nice if you get to know her, and she might hate all men. But as someone who understands the hearth, you might be able to change that." Percy wondered why she was reacting so strangely, but dismissed it.

"I want to, but I know that the hunters will leave soon, and I don't want to get a friend only to see them go. Plus, she's immortal. I'll keep growing, and eventually I'll die, while she'll just live on with her true friends in the hunt. I'd just be... a side dish, on the platter of immortality." Hestia frowned at his words.

"Percy, you are a lot of things, but personally, on my platter, you're the main course." Percy took a moment to try and comprehend what had just been said. After a while, his mind started working and functioning again, and he realized what that meant.

"Oh... I don't know how to respond." Hestia laughed again.

"It's alright Percy take your time. You might want to figure out your feelings for Zoe before you figure out anything with me, got it?" Percy could only nod, still trying to comprehend what he'd heard.

"It's getting late, or I should say early, since it's past midnight. You need sleep, since you had quite the eventful day. Goodnight Percy, and if you ever want to talk, I'll be here at my fire." Percy nodded and before he could go to his cabin she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before melting into flames and tricking into the fire. Percy rubbed his face, grinning from ear to ear. He shook his head, and walked down the hill to his cabin, exhausted from the day's events.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Some of you are probably a little peeved that I haven't updated this story yet. Part of the reason is I get new ideas and prompts flowing into my head all the time, and I never know which stories to truly follow. Fortunately for all of you, I am going to continue this story... in a bit. I am currently writing chapter two of Fade- A PJO Fanfic, where the chapters are longer than some completed stories. Anyway, just wanted to tell you all that I have not given up on this story, and I will update it in the future. If you want, you can check out my other story, since it is the one I am primarily focused on right now. Cya later! :D**

**-foulcat **


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